The Mighty Avengers
by Navek
Summary: Post AvX. After their conflict with the X-Men, the Avengers must become better heroes. With veterans like Hawkeye, She-Hulk and Quasar to new recruits like Cable, Excalibur and Manifold, Earth's Mightiest Heroes are ready to show the universe that they can still fight the battles no single superhero can withstand! For they are - The Mighty Avengers!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note 1: The Mighty Avengers is a non-profit fanfiction story.**

 **The Avengers are owned by Marvel Comics, Stan Lee, and Jack Kirby.**

 **Any original characters and concepts are owned by Navek or xpegasus.**

 **Please support the official release.**

 _There was nothing. Followed by everything._

 _Swirling, burning specks of creation that circled life-giving suns. And then, we raced to the light._

 _It was a spark that started the fire; a legend that grew in the telling._

 _Some believe it began when the Captain Britain Corps and the Council of Kangs went to war._

 _Others say it was when the Deathwalkers completed their blood ritual._

 _Many more think it was when Ex Nihilo terraformed Mars, turning the red planet green._

 _They were all wrong._

 _As it happened before the Light._

 _Before the War._

 _And before the Ultimate Sacrifice._

 _It started with two men. It started with an idea._

 _ **Navek and xpegasus presents**_

 _ **An Avengers fanfic**_

 _ **The Mighty Avengers**_

 _ **Chapter 1: Wake the World**_

 _ **Avengers Tower, Two weeks after Avengers VS X-Men…**_

Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

Tony Stark had first heard of that quote in his high school days when they studied Shakespeare's _King Henry IV_. It was only in the past few years that the Armored Avenger had learned the true meaning behind those words.

Sure, he had wiped his memories of the actions he committed during the whole 'Civil War' debacle, World War Hulk, and the recent Skrull Invasion. But every one of those disasters had still happened, no matter how hard he wished they hadn't. On nights like this, where he tinkered the away in his lab, he would often wonder what his past self was thinking when he decided to wipe his mind.

He probably wanted a clear conscious. The guilt was probably too much to bare, weighed him down like chains and shackles. And that maybe he'd go back to being the hero he used to be when he first founded the Avengers. But if the last three years were any indicator, that hero was buried underneath a scarred and jaded man reaching the end of his prime.

Cul's awakening. The reformation of the 'Illuminati' as Hawkeye called them. And just recently, the massive conflict with the X-Men that, by all accounts, could've easily been avoided.

That last conflict weighed on him more recently as it seemed like the culmination of the Avengers' failures since… well, since Scarlet Witch had been manipulated by Doctor Doom; an event that almost ended Earth's Mightiest Heroes forever. And what did they have to show for their battle with the X-Men?

Charles Xavier, dead; Scott Summers, a wanted fugitive; millions of innocent Wakandans dead; and further strife in the superhero community.

It was something that Steve had mentioned the day after the conflict. That everything nowadays seem to spiral out of control. Back during the halcyon days of the Avengers, they would've stopped events like this before they happened. Suddenly, he remembered what Steve had said that day, and a new idea sparked in the Founding Avengers' head.

Hours later, he left the lab, the halls of Avengers Tower silent, as even Jarvis was asleep. Not that there were many heroes living at the tower recently. Jessica had moved to Boston. Carol was off in space with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Logan and Ororo needed to devote their attention to the X-Men. General Ross had been reinstated into the military. Noh-Vahr was left in space after his betrayal. Spider-Man had decided to focus on his career (and had become a real jackass recently.)

The only ones living at the tower besides him and Jarvis were Clint, Vision, and Steve. Speaking of the latter, Tony had arrived in front of the Star-Spangled Man's room. And not really one for tact, Tony opened the door, waking up the Captain with the new light flooding into his room.

"Wake up, old man." Tony said with a smile. "I haven't been able to sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about something you said. And well… I've been busy."

He then noticed Steve rubbing his eyes. "I'm sorry. I know its late."

"It's fine, Tony. I'm grateful." The blond man replied.

"Bad dreams?"

The Star-Spangled Avenger said nothing for a moment, a distant look in his eyes. Recently, the good Captain had spent a decade in Dimension Z, going through a hellish ordeal where he lost his adoptive son from that world. He had returned, only to realize that barely a day had passed.

"Something like that." Steve replied as he put on a shirt.

"Come on, I'll make you a coffee." Tony said, no words needing to be said between the two, as the Armored Avenger was one of the only people aware of the ordeal his friend had been through. Soon enough, the two were walking down the hall, where Tony began to speak his mind.

"So… this idea has been running through my mind. It's overwhelming, all-consuming, and I can't shut it off. The exact same thing happened the day we found you."

"You remember that?" Steve asked, smiling for the first time in hours.

"Oh… I remember everything about that day." Tony replied, the two thinking back to the day the Avengers found Captain America frozen in ice. "We started something that mattered. Because of you, the world changed. I changed."

He then placed his arm around Cap's shoulder before continuing. "See, the best ideas are always the simplest. And last week, when we were talking about how things keep escalating, how the world is ever more dangerous, how threats are more frequent, how our enemies are seemingly endless… well, Steve, that's a complex problem, but you had a pretty simple answer. Do you remember what you said?"

"I do."

"Well, now I'm sure you were right. We have to get bigger."

And with those words, the next great chapter in the history of the Avengers had begun.

 _ **Mars, One Month Later…**_

On an uncharacteristically green portion of the red planet, a massive cannon formed from an amalgamation of disgusting bio-material launched a projectile past the bounds of the planet's gravity well and into space. Watching this was a bizarre looking golden being that resembled a male humanoid with a horned head, a black omega splayed across his chest, and green eyes with a third closed eye on his forehead. Standing next to him was an advanced gunmetal gray android with a rectangular head.

"Look at it streaming across the sky." The golden man said with a smile. "I wonder if this is how the goddess felt at the moment of creation. Go. Be."

" _ **Error: Deity Negative."**_ The robot replied. " _ **Correction: Recode, not recreate. Objective: Time-Sensitive. Goal: World-Razing. World-Razing, Ex Nihilo."**_

"Ah, you miss the point, Aleph. Where's your sense of wonder?" The golden man said as he approached a giant blue cocoon. "We have been given a gift; an opportunity. So I hurl Origin Bombs, not fire, earthward. I don't want to be a destroyer of worlds… I want to build one."

" _ **Objective: Time-Sensitive."**_

"Feh." The green-eyed being rolled his eyes as he saw looked like an inside-out human being generated bit by bit. "Look here; I'm assembling a perfected version of the creatures who inhabit that planet. This will be our new Adam. The First Man. Our son. Can't you understand that?"

" _ **World. Razing."**_

" **You're wasting your time, Ex Nihilo."** A black-haired woman dressed in black and grey chimed in as she gazed into a nearby pool, wisps of shadows constantly streaming off her body. " **You could sing sweet songs until the stars burn out. He has marked that world for death, and the Eye of Aleph will not be averted."**

"And what about you, Abyss?" Ex Nihilo asked. "What do you see?"

" **Oh, I see things for what they are."** She replied with a smile before tapping the water in the pool, which transformed into some kind of star map, with an object fastly approaching their location. " **These 'men' are clever animals who learned to make tools. Now they threaten everything because they have taught themselves to be dangerous. You building a better primitive seems… unwise. Sparing them in any way… reckless."**

She then pointed out the approached blip on their starmap. " **Look! See how aggressive they are? They've sent their warriors to stop us, Ex Nihilo. Their very best."**

" _ **Acquiring…"**_ Aleph said as he looked up towards the stars, several panels on his body shifting as he activated his offensive protocols. " _ **Apes. Incoming."**_

Speaking of the 'apes', the Quinjet had just destroyed the latest Origin Bomb thanks to Hawkeye's steady aim.

"Projectiles destroyed, Cap!" The Avenging Archer said with his usual cocky smirk. "Damn, I'm good."

"Now there's something I didn't miss." The statuesque stunner known as She-Hulk said with an eye roll. Aside from them, the other passengers of the Quinjet were Captain America (who was piloting it), Vision (who was tracking the flight path of the Origin Bomb), Thor, and Iron Man (now wearing his new streamlined armor.)

" _Setting a course to slip us in along the horizon."_ Vision stated as he input the commands via his datastream. " _They won't see us coming."_

"Holy crap!" Hawkeye shouted as they approached their targets, seeing the vegetation that stretched out for miles. "They terraformed Mars!"

"Is that even possible?" Cap asked.

" _I don't know why it wouldn't be."_ Tony chimed in, now fully adorned in his Mark 50 armor. " _The first two bombs that hit the Earth completely changed the ecosystems of the impact zones. Whoever these people are, they've altered billions of years of evolution in minutes and from two hundred million kilometers away."_

"Pfft! It matters not what powers these strangers possess!" Thor proclaimed, Mjolnir at his side. "This forced evolution hath slaughtered millions of innocents! Whatever their goals may be, we cannot allow them to continue unopposed!"

"Took the words right out of my mouth, goldilocks." She-Hulk replied as she cracked her fists. As Cap landed the Quinjet, the various members readied themselves; Hawkeye strapping on his quiver of trick arrows, Vision and Iron Man fully calibrated for combat, and Thor beginning to channel lightning through his hammer. The Star-Spangled Avenger pulled out his shield off his back as the door opened.

"AVENGERS, ATTACK!" Captain America cried out, leading the charge.

"HAVE AT THEE!" Thor proclaimed before tossing the lightning-charged Mjolnir, slamming Aleph into the air.

"By Eternity!" Ex Nihilo shouted as the other Avengers charged into battle, She-Hulk lept into the air and tried to smash Abyss, only for the woman to turn into shadows to evade the attack.

"Wow, I didn't think aliens went for the goth look." The Jade Giantess quipped as she attempted to punch her foe, only for Abyss to turn ethereal. And with a wave of her hands, Abyss conjured a pitch-black sphere around the green-skinned Avenger.

" _She-Hulk's hit!"_ Tony proclaimed as he prepared to fire a repulsor beam, not seeing the multitude of vines approaching him until it was too late. In an instant, the vines attacked, wedging into the crevices of his armor. " _WHAT THE FUCK?!"_

 **Suit Compromised. Parasitic Dynamo. Systems failing...power levels at 20 percent. 13 percent. 6 percent.**

"Come to me, Metal Man." Ex Nihilo said. With a mental command, the vines brought the Armored Avenger closer to their master, ripping apart his armor as they did so.

 **Zero Power. Shutting down.**

"Well, that's just peachy." Tony grumbled as the vines wrapped around his throat.

"Surprising. Only three percent of sentient races have exoskeletons." Ex Nihilo said with a raised eyebrow. "Let's peel this off and see if we can't speed your evolution on a bit."

But before the golden man could begin his experiment, he was hit in the back by a barrage of explosive arrows. Quickly recovering, he turned and saw Hawkeye aiming at him, another arrow in his bow.

"Alright, ya League of Legends reject," Hawkeye said tauntingly. "Why don't you let go of old Shellhead before I get nasty?"

"You… YOU DARE VIOLENCE?!" Ex Nihilo screamed in rage, his third eye opening up and cosmic energy beginning to flow out of him. "VIOLENCE FOR VIOLENCE'S SAKE?! I would remake him into something better. I would remake your world. And in return, this is the thanks for the offer?!"

"Aw crap." The Archer Avenger said as he headed for the tree in a vain attempt to find cover. Before Clint could even think about reaching for another arrow, he was blasted into unconsciousness by Ex Nihilo.

" _Struggle all you want."_ Vision proclaimed as he phased his hand through Aleph. " _I have already begun to hack your systems. In a nanosecond, you will be stripped of your will to figh...fi….ERROR! ERROR!"_

Suddenly, Vision tensed up as Aleph's eyes glowed blue. Lines of a similar color began to form all over the synthezoid's body as he fell onto the floor and began to convulse.

" _ **Question; You think can override my programming, Earth Machine?"**_ The silver robot said as he towered over his foe. " _ **Statement; I was constructed unfathomable eons ago. Before your creators were even a speck in the universe. You cannot hope to fathom the depths of my systems, you primitive construct."**_

Meanwhile, She-Hulk had managed to destroy the sphere surrounding her with a Hulk Clap before she went back to attacking Abyss.

" **You know this is pointless."** The shadow woman stated as her opponent's fist continued to phase through her. " **Your fists will never connect."**

"I know." She-Hulk said with a smirk and her finger pointed, confusing her opponent. "I'm just distracting you while our big gun charges up."

Abyss raised an eyebrow before looking up. And indeed, Thor was just the red skies, channeling his thunder into Mjolnir with each swing.

"FOR MIDGARD!" The Prince of Asgard proclaimed. She-Hulk leaped away as he swung his hammer down, unleashing an awesome blast of lightning that Mars had never experienced before, the red planet shaking from the impact. And for the first time in eons, Abyss screamed in pain.

"SISTER!" Ex Nihilo shouted in concern as his vines pushed Captain America back. In anger, he turned towards his robotic companion. "Aleph! You wanted to raze a world? Well then, focus all of that destructive power at that flying ape!"

" _ **Request; Accepted."**_ Aleph stated as his chest unfolded, revealing a massive cannon that he aimed at Thor. " _ **Target; Acquired."**_

With a battle cry, Thor flew towards his opponent, unaware of the destructive power he was about to face. Without a word, Aleph unleashed a massive barrage of blue cosmic energy that blasted the Thunder God past the Martian atmosphere, through one of the red planets' moons, and into the farthest reaches of the galaxy, Thor's trajectory continuing to send him through space even after the blast had subsided.

"THOR!" She-Hulk shouted before glaring at Aleph. "Oh, you're gonna get it now, you discount Ultron!"

Before the silver robot could react, She-Hulk began to slam her fists into the robot, each punch and the kick aimed for any part that looked important, continuing to do so until her fists began to bleed with green blood.

" **Enough."** Abyss said as she reconstituted herself. She then conjured another stream of shadowy tendrils and launched them at She-Hulk. But instead of trying to trap her, the shadows forced themselves into the Jade Giantess' ears. And as soon as the tendrils reached She-Hulk's brain, Abyss said a single word that ended the battle. " **Sleep."**

And indeed, She-Hulk fell to the ground, transforming back into her human form of Jennifer Walters as she lost consciousness.

"I bet you're feeling pretty good about yourself right now, aren't you?" Abyss turned and saw Captain America, who had escaped from her brother's vines. "I bet you think you've won. Well, Ma'am, you haven't. Not as long as I'm left standing."

With precision honed from years of experience, the Star-Spangled Man tossed his signature shield. And while Abyss meary turned to shadows to let the circular projectile phase through her, the shield then ricocheted off a nearby tree, hitting Ex Nihilo in the back of the head. And thanks to the magnetic controls hidden in his gloves, Cap's shield was flying back towards him...only for it to be grabbed out of the air by Aleph.

" _ **Yield?"**_ The robot asked as he stared down at the Avenger.

"You're a big one, aren't you?"

" _ **Yield."**_

"Not a chance." Captain America replied, defiant as always. In response, Aleph punched him into the ground, shattering most of the Captain's ribs as he did so.

" _ **Yield."**_ Aleph commanded as he reared his fist back.

"No." Steve groaned out. Once again, Aleph struck him, destroying most of his teeth and bloodying up his eyes.

" _ **Yield."**_

"Enough, Aleph." Ex Nihilo said as he put his hand on the robot's arm. "We are the Gardeners. And in this garden, I choose not to waste life. I choose to transform it. To change it and give it purpose. We will use him to send a message. We'll send him home to write a warning in the heavens; Here, Earth. Here is your champion. Watch him burn red through the sky. We have been sent to judge your world, and we cannot be stopped. These heroes were the best you had to offer. And they were found… wanting."

 _ **Avengers Tower, Three Days Later…**_

"...even? Master Steven?"

Through all the pain in his body, Steve Rogers opened his eyes, finding himself in the medical wing of Avengers Tower with Jarvis looking over him.

"Oh, thank the gods." The loyal butler said with a sigh of relief. "For a moment, I was afraid you were about to leave us again."

"Not a chance in hell, Jarvis." The blond man groaned as he sat up. As he did so, he began to recall in the end of the battle on Mars. The three putting him back into the Quinjet and launching him back to Earth. How the Quinjet burned upon re-entry and he had to make a forced crash-landing in the Hudson river.

"Captain…" Jarvis asked, concern evident in his eyes. "What happened to Master Stark and the other Avengers?"

Steve thought back to the fate of his teammates, his eyes hardening. "Jarvis."

"Yes, sir?"

"Take me to Tony's lab."

In a matter of minutes, the super-soldier was brought to the lab with Jarvis' assistance. As Steve approached the main computer, he recalled his talk with Tony.

" _We have to get bigger. We've held on for so long, but there's something looming just past the horizon. We can't see it, but it's coming. It's going to be too much, and too soon. And we have to get ready now. We'll keep this quiet until they're needed; You and I will do most of the recruiting. Specific people for specific needs. But they'll be out there, ready and waiting. And then, when that day comes, all you have to do is say the words."_

Steve activated the computer, which showed a blue diagram. At the center, the Avengers logo had the six symbols of the Avengers around it (A shield for Cap, an arc reactor for Tony, an arrow for Hawkeye, a radiation warning sign for She-Hulk, a diamond for Vision, and Mjolnir for Thor). Attached to the diagram were nine inactive symbols.

 _It was a summoning. He was the best; our very best. So when he called, what hero would not answer?_

 _It started with an idea. The spark that started the fire was expansion. Our captain spoke, and gave the idea form. He said the words, and made it real. He said…_

"Avengers Assemble."

And with that vocal command, the nine symbols on the diagram lit up, revealing a pair of goggles, a falcon's head, an infinity symbol, a heart, an eye, a sword, a star, a cross in a circle, and a headpiece.

Throughout the world, across America, Britain, Australia, Romania, and China, nine people heard the ringing of an Avengers ID card. In a matter of hours, the heroes were assembled.

Hank Pym, Codename: Wasp.

Wanda Maximoff, Codename: Scarlet Witch.

Sam Wilson, Codename: Falcon.

Monica Rambeau, Codename: Spectrum.

Wendell Vaughn, Codename: Quasar.

Faiza Hussain, Codename: Excalibur.

Xiang Liuchow, Codename: Ban-Luck.

Nathan Summers, Codename: Cable.

Eden Fesi, Codename: Manifold.

 _And assemble we did. In the dead of night, when the world was sleeping, Captain America and Iron Man had made something new; An Avengers Machine._

 _A communal device that was built to save us all. This whole was made of parts; Individuals aligned perfectly to serve a greater purpose. When called, they each came for different reasons._

 _Some of us wanted a new challenge. Some wanted redemption. Some wanted a better life. And some of us could not help who we were._

 _ **One Month Ago…**_

" _So, what brings you guys to Avengers Academy?" Hank asked as Steve and Tony sat opposite of his desk._

" _Um… Hank? Why are you wearing your Wasp costume?" Tony asked with a raised eyebrow._

" _Well, Janet's taking a break from the whole superhero business. I mean, she has been in the Microverse for a year. And I figured I could I use a change of pace, so I dusted off this little number." The founding Avenger explained as he adjusted his goggles._

" _It's never a consistent identity with you, isn't it?" Steve joked, the three veterans sharing a chuckle._

" _But seriously, why did you guys come here?"_

" _Well, Hank, we're reorganizing the Avengers." Tony explained. "Expanding out so we have all of our bases covered."_

" _We already got a core team settled." Steve explained. "And we're hoping you'll answer the call when we need to expand."_

"… _why me though?" Hank asked, since he hadn't had the most… pleasant tenure as an Avenger._

" _Because when I was dead and Tony was on the run, you held up the tradition." The blond man stated, referring to the short tenure when Hank led his own team of Mighty Avengers. "Jarvis speaks the world of that time."_

" _Huh. I… didn't know that." The original Ant-Man said, genuinely touched._

" _I mean, we are going to have to go through some legal snafu if we want to operate outside the US." Tony explained. "After that nasty business with the X-Men, the United Nations ain't exactly chomping at the bit to sponsor us."_

 _Hank said nothing before bursting out laughing, confusing his longtime teammates._

" _Gentleman, you're in luck." The size-changer said before holding up his hand. "Toolbot."_

 _Instantaneously, a communicator with the words, 'GRAMPA', grew into his hand._

' _Forgot he could do that.' Tony thought, genuinely impressed as Hank activated the communicator, revealing a hologram of a man in a grey business suit and a blue & red mask with a white A on it._

" _Ace, how'd you like to do business with the Mighty Avengers again?" Hank asked with an adventurous smile._

 _ **Wundagore…**_

" _You two must be out of your mind." The Scarlet Witch stated as she used her magic to keep a mob of ghouls at bay, Captain America and Iron Man standing back-to-back-to-back with her._

" _You wouldn't be the first one to call me crazy." Iron Man said as he adjusted his arc reactor, ready to unleash a unibeam._

 _ **Harlem…**_

" _Do you even need to ask?" Sam said as he shook hands with Steve, both of them ignoring as one of his birds pecked at Tony._

 _ **Manhattan…**_

" _So you're going by Spectrum, now." Tony said as he, Steve, and Monica watched her latest opponent being dragged away by SHIELD. Some idiot called Blue Streak. "I dig it."_

" _Thanks." The former leader of the Avengers said, shaking out the dust from her hair. "I even got a catchphrase now."_

" _Well, you're gonna need it, Captain." Steve stated._

" _Can't wait for, Captain." Monica joked, tapping Steve's shoulder with her elbow._

 _ **Nebraska…**_

 _Nathan Summers AKA the time-traveling anti-hero Cable had returned to his current hideout, which as an abandoned airfield in Nebraska, his trench coat flowing in the wind. He arrived at the decrepit WWII bomber plane that he currently called home. However, he noticed two figures standing inside of it; Captain America and Iron Man._

" _Just fuckin' great." The white-haired man groaned before raising his right arm up. "Let me guess, you guys are here to arrest me."_

" _Actually, we're here to offer you a job." Iron Man replied, confusing the hell out of the time-traveler._

 _ **MI-13 Headquarters…**_

"… "

" _She hasn't said a single word since we gave her the offer." Tony whispered to Captain Britain while Steve looked a tad uncomfortable._

" _Faiza is...very shy." Sir Brian replied. "But she's one the best heroes this country's ever seen. The fact that she wields Excalibur is proof enough."_

 _ **Australia…**_

" _Can I get you wherever you want to go? Bend Space-Time? Sure." Eden Fesi answered while he meditated on top of a rock. "But I don't know that I'm the man for the job. I've tried this 'being a hero' bit before and all that happened was a lot of my friends got hurt. Do you really think I'm the right guy for the job? Because I don't know if I am."_

" _Why don't we find out together, Eden?" Steve asked._

 _ **Wisconsin…**_

" _About time you guys stepped up." Wendell replied with a smile, Captain America and Iron Man having approached him as he was enjoying a quiet day near a lake._

 _ **Hong Kong…**_

" _You know when Ace said a blond supersoldier wanted to take me out to dinner, I was kind of hoping it was John Walker." A black-haired chinese woman said with a smile, Steve and Tony sitting on the opposite end of the restaurant table._

' _Probably the first time anyone's ever said that.' Tony thought in his mind._

 _ **Avengers Tower, Now…**_

'What the hell is Steve thinking?' Falcon thought to himself as he glared at Cable, who was helping Wasp, Spectrum, and Scarlet Witch fix up the Quinjet. At the same time, Excalibur was healing up Captain America (Manifold heading to the med-bay with her) and Ban-Luck was monitoring all GRAMPA feeds incase the nutcases on Mars launched another Origin Bomb while Quasar was floating around Earth, ready to intercept them at a moment's notice.

Why was the Winged Avenger glaring at Cable? Because about three months ago, the time-traveler led a one-man crusade against the Avengers, and Falcon was the first one taken down via a sniper round to the back. And while they did learn that Cable was driven mad by a techno-organic virus (that his daughter Hope can cured him of,) it still didn't help the matter.

And yet here he was, standing alongside the Avengers with a cybernetic left arm and right eye, using his telekinesis to lift up panels.

But before Sam could contemplate things anymore, an alarm blared and Ban-Luck suddenly stood up, her wrist-mounted hologram projector active.

"Heads up, heroes!" The goggle-wearing heroine proclaimed as her projector watch showed five objects heading towards Earth. "We got five Origin Bombs incoming! Quasar!"

"I'm on it!" The Cosmic Avenger replied, blasting off towards the planet-bound projectiles with the power of his Quantum Bands. He saw one of the bombs and unloaded a massive yellow blast of quantum energy destroying one of them. However, the bombs were moving faster than he could have anticipated.

'Shit!' He thought to himself as he raced after the bombs, cursing himself for being out of practice. A year ago, Quasar had returned to life as a being of pure quantum energy, serving as a major player during several cosmic conflicts. But through a series of events, he had both returned to Earth and returned to being a creature of flesh and blood. As such, he was still readjusting to the limitations of the human mind, as the Quantum Bands could only help so much as he raced after them, even as he blasted another one into space dust.

And so, faster than any ordnance weapon could react, the three Origin Bombs each hit their intended targets.

Kobe, Japan. Chhatarpur, India. And Holjanmyra, Norway. And those three locations would never be the same again.

'No.' Quasar thought to himself before he headed back to Avengers Tower.

"Holy shit." Monica replied while the rest of the Avengers looked on in horror.

"Guys, I…" Wendell said as he entered the hangar. "I didn't… I mean they were faster than…"

"No one's blaming you, Wendell." The Scarlet Witch replied with a sympathetic look. "You did the best you could."

"Alright, double time people!" Cable ordered before pointing his thumb at the half-rebuilt quinjet. "There's no telling how many of those doomsday weapons those freaks on Mars have, so we gotta get this bird back up and flying in the next hour."

"And who the hell put you in charge?" Falcon asked.

"No one. I'm just stating the facts." The mutant cyborg proclaimed with his usual scowl.

"Easy, gentlemen." Hank stated, getting in between the two. "We're on the same side."

"Right you are, Hank." The assembled heroes looked up and saw Captain America, now fully healed, walking into the room, Excalibur and Manifold following him on either side. "And you're right, Nathan. We need to get to Mars, asap. And we have just the man for the job."

The Star-Spangled Avenger then gestured to Manifold, who walked ahead of the Captain, feeling a bit nervous.

"This is Eden Fesi. According to his files, while he's never been off planet, he has the ability to teleport us to Mars."

"Really?" Hank asked.

"Would you believe me if I told you that getting there is as easy as walking across the room?" Eden asked.

"Kid, you're talking to a bird man, a size changer, a mutant witch, a living cross-section, a super-soldier whose almost a century old, a woman who can turn into any kind of radiation, a cosmic guardian, a lady with a heart-shaped boob window, and a time-traveling cyborg." Cable stated. "I think we'd all believe ya."

'Boob window?' Ban-Luck thought as she looked down at her costume.

"Well… that saved me an explanation." Eden quipped.

"Alright people, listen up." Captain America began to say as the ten heroes huddled up. "I know this particular team is barely any hour old, but right now, our friends on Mars and the world needs us. So whatever grudges we might have with each other or any hang ups we have need to tabled for now. We need to be more than heroes. We need to be Avengers."

'And Cap's still got a way with words.' Hank thought, Monica, Sam, Wanda, and Wendell had similar thoughts as Manifold raised his spear into the air.

"Alright, everyone. Things about to get… wicked." The former Secret Warrior said as he activated his powers. In an instant, a massive circular white portal appeared behind the ten Avengers. And in the next instant, the australian hero bent space and time, teleporting the newly forged team to the surface of the red planet. And as soon as they arrived, Captain America began to lay out their strategy.

 _ **A few minutes later…**_

'Good lord, why does every omnipotent cosmic so-and-so feel the need to go on and on and on?' Hawkeye thought to himself as he and Tony were hung up by Ex Nihilo's vines, Vision was still in the middle of the cybernetic equivalent of a comma by Aleph, and Jennifer was still unconscious thanks to Abyss. Since the Avenging Archer didn't see Captain America, he figured that the shield hero had escaped and was coming up with a plan to rescue them.

He just wished that Cap would hurry up, because at this rate, he figured Ex Nihilo's monologue would end up killing him before the brute laid a finger on him. The golden weirdo just kept going on and on about evolution, creation, how him and his buddies were part of some ancient race called the Builders, and a whole bunch of other crap that the Archer Avenger couldn't give a damn about.

"-and each one making your planet better suited for its new future." Ex Nihilo continued, explaining the purpose behind the five newly-launched Origin Bombs. "It's perfe-WAIT WHAT!?"

"Finally!" Clint exclaimed as the golden blowhard was suddenly encased in a cone-shaped Quantum Construct.

" _ **Apes."**_ Aleph said as he quickly turned, seeing Captain America rushing towards him with Quasar and Scarlet Witch flanking him from the air and ground respectively.

" _Vânturile Destinului, Schimbare!"_ Scarlet Witch chanted before unleashing a large hex bolt that destabilized most of Aleph's systems, including the hacking program on Vision. Cap followed up on this by slamming his shield down on Aleph's head, knocking the robot on its back.

"Remember me?" The Sentinel of Liberty asked as he placed one foot on Aleph's chest. "Yield."

But as Aleph blasted his foe off of him, Quasar was confronting Ex Nihilo.

"You only get one chance; give up or me and my friends are gonna kick your asses back to whatever planet or dimension you came from."

"And just who are you to issue an ultimatum to the Gardeners?" Ex Nihilo growled, his third eye glowing with power.

"The Protector of the freakin' Universe." Quasar replied as he activated another feature of the Quantum Bands; draining energy from a specific target, causing Ex Nihilo to begin to falter.

Seeing her brother in pain, Abyss turned to the unconscious She-Hulk.

" _ **Beast! Serve Me!"**_ She commanded, her shadowy tendrils forcing Jen to wake up and Hulk out. " _ **Cast a ferocious shadow! Blot out the sun!"**_

With a savage roar, the Jade Giantess leaped towards Quasar, beginning to brawl with her fellow Avenger as Scarlet Witch helped Captain America up.

" _ **Query: Status Stable?"**_ Aleph asked the recovering Ex Nihilo.

"No, Aleph. Never static." The golden being replied as he shoved his hand into the ground. "Forward. Always forward."

Suddenly, hundreds of blue cocoons emerged from the ground around Captain America and Scarlet Witch before bubbling out and unleashing hordes of mutated hounds and birds.

" _Apăra!"_ The mutant sorceress quickly chanted, creating a red mystical barrier around the two Avengers, keeping them apart from the bizarre creatures.

" _Wanda! Captain!"_ Vision proclaimed, finally up and running again before he started to fire solar beams at the creatures.

"Hey, Cap." Steve turned and saw Tony, who had just regained consciousness. "I thought the plan was to call everyone."

"It was. I did." Captain America replied before he tapped on his earpiece. "Eden! Find me!"

A second later, the rest of the Avengers were teleported behind the Scarlet Witch's barrier, although Wasp as noticeably absent.

"Avengers, push ahead!" The shield-welding Avenger proclaimed.

"You heard him, people!" Cable proclaimed as a weapon teleported into his hands via blue energy. Said weapon could only be described as three six-barrelled gatling guns mashed together. "Give 'em hell!"

And so, Earth's Mightiest Heroes pushed back against the horde of killer animals. Bullets, chaos magic, hard-light talons, light blasts, heart-shaped projectiles, and spear stabs with several punches & kicks thrown in the midst.

"Sorry about this, Jen." Quasar said as he quickly conjured up a series of elaborate restraining devices, weights, and chain constructs to keep the mind-controlled She-Hulk from harming herself or others.

As this was going on, Cap and Excalibur ran over to free Tony and Hawkeye from the vines.

"Hello, Mr. Barton." Faiza said as she cut him down. "Dr. Faiza Hussain. I'm a huge fan."

"I'll give ya an autograph, later." Hawkeye replied as he quickly grabbed his purple bow from the ground. He then pulled out a tuning fork-shaped arrow and fired it at the ground near Abyss. The arrow then began to unleash a frequency that started making the shadow woman phase in and out, her body becoming a chaotic mess of moving shadows.

" **W-What in E-E-Eternity is this?!"** Abyss cried out.

"Anti-Phaser Arrow." Clint said with a smirk as Captain America helped Tony down. "Looks like Shulkie owns me one."

And indeed, with her puppeteer now distracted, She-Hulk regained her senses was a tad bit confused. "Wendell?"

"Hey, Jen. Long time no see." The Cosmic Avenger said as he dismissed the construct before the two rejoined the battle against Ex Nihilo, Aleph and the seemingly endless hordes of animals.

" _ **Apes. Annoying."**_ Aleph proclaimed as he smacked Captain America's shield away, only to topple over as Excalibur cut off one of his legs. " _ **Activate Cosmic Cannonononononoonon-"**_

"Aleph?" Ex Nihilo asked in concern as he summoned up a wall of veins to block attacks from Cable, Spectrum and the Scarlet Witch.

" _ **Error!Error!Error!Error!Error!Error!Error!r!Error!Error!Error!Error!Error!"**_ The robot continued to repeat as sparks flew from him.

"Sorry that took so long, Cap!" Hank's voice spoke from within Aleph before he flew out and grew back to normal size. "Took me a few minutes to figure out how his operating system worked. That feedback loop should keep him occupied."

"You…but…" The golden man said, utterly baffled that a flawed lifeform could even grasp Aleph's systems. He then looked around and took stock of the battlefield.

His sister was in constant agony. His lifelong friend was broken. His creatures were being slaughtered. And if things continued this way, not only would he fall, but his Adam would probably be destroyed as well.

And as if to rub salt in the wound, thunder began to roar above and an object crashed onto the battlefield. Out of the crater came an enraged Thor, his body slightly iced over from the exposure to space and lightning crackling around him.

As the Avengers continued to battle his hordes, Ex Nihilo realized that this was a battle he could never win. In desperation, he opened his third eye once more. But this time, green energy began to swirl around himself, Abyss, Aleph, and Adam's Cocoon.

" _(Builders; Guild your Children.)_ " He chanted as his eye glowed brighter and brighter.

"That can't be good." Tony proclaimed.

"Keep pressing!" Cap ordered.

However, Ex Nihilo's third eye unleashed a blinding green glow, and when the heroes were able to see again, the residents of the Garden were gone, the only thing remaining being the vegetation.

"Typical." Cable grumbled, having faced his fair share of retreating villains.

"So, are all Avengers missions this insane?" Ban-Luck asked Falcon.

"Pretty much." The Winged Avenger replied.

 _ **Avengers Tower, Later…**_

"I just got confirmation from Ace." Hank said as he walked through the halls of Avengers Tower with Steve and Tony. "The impact zones in Australia, Cuba, India, and Japan have been quarantined. GRAMPA research teams are on site until they can figure out a way to reverse the damage."

"What about the Norway site?" Steve asked.

"Well, there's some good news on that front. That impact site seems to be the least affected. All they found was some type of cocoon that they took to the 'Underbelly,' wherever the hell that is."

"I thought you were tight with these GRAMPA guys." Tony chimed.

"I think he's still mad about almost being trapped in the Underspace with Ultron." The size-changing Avenger said as he scratched the back on his head.

"Well, at least we can look on the bright side; the new team managed to work somewhat well together and that Nihilo guy and his posse are gonna think twice about attacking again."

"Damn right," Steve replied as the three entered the living room. "Because they know what kind of world this is."

The three saw the large team getting to know each other better; Quasar was telling Cable and Thor about his space adventures, Falcon was showing off Redwing to Ban-Luck, Spectrum, Scarlet Witch, She-Hulk were catching up with each other over drinks, Excalibur was asking Vision about his biology, and Hawkeye and Manifold were enjoying some Hors d'oeuvres that Jarvis had prepared.

"It's an Avengers' World."

 _It was the spark that started the fire; a legend that grew in the telling._

 _The great idea was expansion. And it started with two men._

 _One was life, and one was death._

 **Author's Note 2: So this is my take on Jonathan Hickman's Avengers run. And don't get me wrong, there's a lot I like about his run. But there was also a ton of problems with it. One of which was that aside from Sunspot's posse, there was little to no interaction between the larger team.**

 **So instead of going for a large 20+ roster, I'm sticking to a rotating cast of no more than fifteen Avengers.**

 **And if you think this going to be a carbon-copy of the Hickman run with a different cast, think again. I'm merely using the premise Hickman set up as a springboard for my first fanfic set in the main Marvel Universe.**

 **Next Time: Moving Day! Please remember to read, favorite and review!**

 **Excelsior, True Believers!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note 1: The Mighty Avengers is a non-profit fanfiction story.**

 **The Avengers are owned by Marvel Comics, Stan Lee, and Jack Kirby.**

 **Any original characters and concepts are owned by Navek or xpegasus.**

 **Please support the official release.**

 _Chapter 2: Moving Day_

 _ **An undisclosed location…**_

"There is nothing surprising about the mutants' behavior," A gruff voice spoke in German, it being the only other sound aside from his tinkering. "With their ranks culled, they took extreme measures to rectify imminent extinction. Evolution is no whisper humming in the background; it is the true substance of our every motive. It is natural to safeguard one's line from the environmental competition."

And the only other person in the room was silent, leaving the man to continue to talk to himself.

"Ah, but now the world has seen. Felt the mutant boot on its neck. Watched as mutants endangered their own life on Earth to ensure their own propagation. People do not forgive tyranny, believe me. Mankind will come for your people. Their hatred for you is too primal, too compelling, to be denied."

He finished tinkering with a device no bigger than a fingernail before walking towards the other man in the room. The only sound that followed was a disgusting squish.

"Hatred is natural. Hatred protects a species from complacency in the face of rivals, and it reminds of one simple truth; Kill them before they kill you."

 _ **New York…**_

'Now this brings back memories,' Quasar thought as he used his Quantum Bands to carry his admittingly small number of belongings in the air with him. Since the newly expanded Avengers had been assembled, now came what was almost a tradition for any new roster; Moving Day.

As Wendell remembered his first time moving into Avengers Mansion, he soon arrived at Avengers Tower, entering through an open window on the top floor.

"Ah! Good morning, Master Vaughn." Jarvis greeted him while he was dusting off a ceiling fan.

"Morning, Jarvis," The Cosmic Avenger replied as he mentally dismissed his black and red costume, leaving him in a black t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. "So, what room am I crashing in?"

"3-16. Just past Miss Walters' room." The elderly butler stated.

But as Quasar was busy moving into the Tower, three of Earth's Mightiest were already busy in Tony Stark's lab. And those three were Stark himself, Hank Pym, and Cable.

"Alright; Smart Chip signal is coming in clear," The size-changing Avenger said as he observed a holographic screen that showed Tony's brain with a small chip embedded in it. "Honestly, I'm surprised you agreed to this."

"Hank, four months ago I could store my entire armor in my bones." The bearded man replied. "Attaching a microchip to my brain is pretty tame by comparison."

"Well, if you ask me, getting rid that Extremis crap was a good call," Nathan stated. "Trust me; having all that metal inside ya is a pain in the ass."

"...noted," Tony said, both him and Hank mildly uncomfortable with the time travelers' straight face. However, that faded as Tony stared down his latest suit of armor that was suspended in by wires. "Alright, begin testing of Mark 42 Armor. Codename: Techslide."

The Armored Avenger then held his right arm out, his mind commanding his armor's right gauntlet to appear on his arm. In an instant, the gauntlet turned transparently blue and vanished. And in the next second, the transparent blue outline appeared around Tony's right arm before the full gauntlet materialized, fitting him like a glove.

"Gentlemen, we are geniuses," Tony said with a smirk.

"Well, you two are." Cable said as he started to walk out of the room. "I'm gonna hit the firing range. Test out my new sidearms."

And as soon as he left the room, Hank had this to say.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen him smile."

"Well, he's a time-traveler and an X-Man." The founding Avenger said as he moved his fingers. "Makes you wonder why he hangs out with Deadpool of all people. Anthony."

" _What's up, boss?"_ Tony Stark's new AI asked, appearing in hologram form of a black-haired teen in a red t-shirt, jeans, and red shoes. And it didn't take a genius like Hank to realize that Tony had based this AI on a younger version of himself.

"How's the new Iron Legion coming along?"

" _Numbers 1-38 have been fully assembled."_ The AI reported, manifesting a clipboard into his holo-form. " _39-50 still in progress."_

"And what about the Sat-Armor?"

" _Well, we've started the retrofitting,"_ Anthony stated as he showed the two founding Avengers a hologram of several Stark Drones performing repairs on the Satellite. " _It should take us about a month before the Sat-Armor is RTG again."_

"Bet the U.N.'s gonna love to hear about why we have a giant space weapon," Hank commented while Tony rolled his eyes.

" _Speaking of space weapons, I actually had an idea of my own, boss."_ The teen-looking AI stated as he dismissed the Satellite hologram and brought about a hologram of Avengers Tower. " _Now hear me out; whenever there's a big alien invasion, superhero headquarters are usually one of the first places to be attacked."_

"That's about right." Hank agreed.

" _But what if we turned our headquarters into a weapon?"_ Anthony stated as he pulled out schematics, showing Avengers Tower transforming into a massive cannon. " _The Kree, the Badoon or whoever shows up looking for a fight and then BOOM! 8,000 Gigawatts of Gamma Energy right in the flagship!"_

The two founding Avengers stared at the AI before sharing a look and silently agreeing 'Nope!'

"Any change on Vision?"

" _Okay, ignore my awesome idea."_ The AI grumbled. " _No, sir. He's still orbiting the sun."_

A day after their battle with the Gardeners, the Vision had flown into space, only telling Hank that, 'He'll be back soon.' Stark Industries Satellites had followed his flight plan and showed that he had been floating around the sun in some kind of status mode. He had also been absorbing any raw material that had come his way, assimilating it into himself.

"Think it might be Ultron?" Tony asked Hank.

"No. If this was Ultron, we'd know it," The size-shifting Avenger stated. "When he left, Vision didn't seem like he was in a panic or under distress. In fact, he smiled."

"Pretty sure he smiled when ISSAC corrupted him too," Tony replied. "Anthony, keep an eye on Vision. Let us know as soon as you see a change."

" _Got it, Boss."_

Meanwhile, Steve and Monica were conversing with Ace via video chat in the communications room. The subject of their meeting was the status of the Origin Bombs' impact sites.

" _GRAMPA bio-teams have successfully established a containment barrier separating the impact zone from the unaffected surrounding areas. Reports from the Japan and India sites all seem to indicate the same thing; A 10-mile fallout radius from the Garden's bioweapons. Inside, they're mostly dead zones."_

"Mostly?" Monica asked.

" _Around twelve hours ago, the Hand managed to break the line. A full Fist made it through, but orbital recon lost them one mile into the city."_

"What about the other sites?" Steve asked.

" _Well, the Cuban government is being difficult as always. They insist their Bio-Sentinels can handle their sight."_

"Woah, Woah, wait a minute? Bio-Sentinels?!" Monica replied.

" _Right. If you think the state of mutant/human relations in the United States is bad, you should see how Cuba handles them. And the Australians are being just as difficult with the Perth site once they found out SHIELD had a covert Project: Perseus facility there."_

"Because of course they did," Steve stated with a palm on his face. Ever since his defrosting, the original super-soldier had lost count of how many times SHIELD had royally screwed over the superhero community. And when they weren't screwing over the heroes, they were getting their asses kicked, which usually resulted in the helicarrier exploding.

It was too early in their partnership to see if GRAMPA would have the same track record as SHIELD. But so far, most the tension between the two groups came from Hank and Ace. GRAMPA was still secretive about a lot of their operations, but Steve couldn't blame them. After all, the Avengers haven't had the most pleasant reputation as of late.

In yet another part of Avengers Tower, two old friends were sitting in the rec area. One of them reading a book of spells her mentor had left for her in the event of her death. The other was twiddling her thumbs, not sure what to say.

"Well...this is awkward," Jen stated.

"Hey, you said it," Wanda replied, her eyes not leaving her spellbook. "You know, you don't have to talk to me."

The superhero lawyer said nothing, mentally wishing she was in the middle of a Collateral Case instead.

 _ **The Jean Grey School for Higher Learning…**_

The sun had begun to set on the grave. Said grave showed a statue of a great but flawed man who died without ever seeing his dream come true. Flowers and wreaths had been left by those he had touched in life.

But sadly, this grave would not go unturned. A large puddle of water suddenly manifested on the nearby ground, and a group of five stepped out, three of them wearing the same dark grey uniform while another was covered in red rags and the other was nude.

They were a strange group indeed. One woman was made of water. Another woman had the head of a goat. The third woman looked like a furry gargoyle. One of the men looked like a large turtle. And the only human-looking member of the group had black hair.

"So this is where they buried that monster." The goat-faced woman stated.

"Soon, they will all join him." The black-haired man stated before motioning to the turtle man. But as the turtle man walked towards the grave, the air around them seemed to shimmer before shattering like a mirror.

Another group of five stepped out, this one almost as strange as they were all anthropomorphic animals in cybernetic suits of dark blue armor. Their ranks included a panda, a hawk, a swordfish, an orangutan (who currently had magic circles around his hands), and a cheetah.

"You five are guilty of attempted superhuman grave robbing." The female panda stated as her arms transformed into cannons, the others arming themselves as well. "By the authority of GRAMPA, you are all under arrest."

 _ **Back at Avengers Tower…**_

"You rookies feeling tired yet?" Hawkeye asked from the observation booth as Excalibur, Manifold, and Ban-Luck were in the middle of a standard Avengers training routine. Which meant lots of robots, random bits of the room being launched, and various weapon platforms trying to blast them.

"ARE YOU REALLY ASKING US THAT?!" Manifold screamed as he instantly teleported to avoid some missiles.

"Oh come on. Don't tell me Level 1's got you tired already."

"This is only Level 1?!" Excalibur shouted while Ban-Luck just laughed, flipping over a trio of training bots before tossing some heart-shaped objects into the robots. She landed and snapped her fingers, which was the signal for the hearts to unleashing a disabling field, shutting down the robots.

"Seems about right. GRAMPA cadets go through the same degree of training." The Chinese woman stated. "Although we use more hard light enemies and less training robots."

"Well glad at least one you gets it," Hawkeye said with a smirk. "Cause I'm raising it to Level 2."

"Oh, sweet Allah," Excalibur whispered as not only were the destroyed training robots replaced, but even more of them appeared.

"Don't you think you're being a bit harsh on the rookies, Clint?" Falcon asked as he walked into the observation booth.

"Hey, they might be rookie Avengers, but they're not new to the hero game." The Avenging Archer answered. "In fact, this was actually Cap's idea to evaluate their skills."

Elsewhere, Wendell was walking towards the rec area, a shifting construct of cubes and pillars constantly interlocking. But the sight he was met with was...weird.

"A-and that's w-why I hate the Juggernaut." Jen (in her She-Hulk form) proclaimed in a drunken stupor.

"Ya, alternate counterparts can be a bitch," Wanda replied equally as drunk.

Since her attempts to strike a conversation with her old teammate was going nowhere fast, Jen decided to try her old friend; alcohol! After a few swigs, Wanda decided to join her old friend and took a swig herself. Which has what led to this predicament.

"But seriously.." Jen began to say before letting out a drunk hiccup. "...your illusion charm thingy saved my life, Wanda. I don't give a shit what anyone else says about ya; you're still a hero in my book."

And even though she was drunk (or maybe because of that,) Wanda teared up and gave Jen a hug. And seeing as this was a rather private moment, Wendell proceeded to slowly back out of the room.

In another part of the tower, Jarvis was catching his breath after cleaning up the armory. It had taken him over three hours to do so, and the aging butler was not happy with that fact. Back when the Avengers had started, Jarvis was in his late fifties. Sure, by most standards he was old, but still managed to complete most of his tasks with impeccable timing.

But that was twenty years ago, and Jarvis had started to realize that he almost in his twilight years. His bones ached more, he found himself getting out of breath more often, and as he just learned, his time with tasks had gotten worse. He had visited the doctors, and by all accounts, he was perfectly healthy for his age. But that was just it; he was getting far too old to butle for Earth's Mightiest Heroes. He had thought about it for awhile, but he had a feeling that the time would come.

Edwin Jarvis will need to retire. However, he had another idea in mind as he returned to his quarters, booting up a laptop that Tony had gotten him for his birthday a few years back.

 _ **Later in Gloucester…**_

In his apartment, a red-haired brown-eyed man in his mid-forties was busy doing his usual nightly routine; building models of old war machines. In his case, he was putting the finishing touches on a 1/1700 scale B-17 Flying Fortress. But before he could stroke the last bit of paint, a device on the table began to go off.

"Of bloody course." The man groaned as he put down his paintbrush and put the device on the floor. After a few seconds, four holograms were projected, each of them showing a different person.

The oldest was a Hispanic man in his late seventies. But despite his age (signified by his short white hair), he still had an imposing physique and presence, only highlighted by his black business suit and piercing green eyes.

 **King**

The second oldest was an Asian woman in her mid-fifties. Her faded black hair and blue eyes gave a hint of kindness, dressed in a traditional red kimono.

 **Queen**

One of the younger ones was a black woman in her early twenties. Her attire was the very definition of punk goth, which her bright blue hair and brown eyes contrasted.

 **Jack**

The last member was an Asian man in his late twenties dressed in more casual clothing with a red & black jacket, jeans, and combat boots.

 **Ten**

Alongside Ace, these five were the Royal Flush, Directors of GRAMPA.

"You guys are cutting into my model time; you know that, right?" Ace stated, a bit peeved. However, he then took a look at the expressions of his fellow directors. King was solemn, Queen was concerned, Ten was worried, and most distressingly, Jack looked disheartened. Which was a big red flag as she was usually the most optimistic of the RF. "What happened?"

" _Nothing good."_ Ten replied. " _An hour ago, the Wild Cards engaged a group of criminals."_

"Which ones?"

" _Dancing Water, The Goat-Faced Girl, Insect, Mzee, and the Living Wind,"_ Queen replied. And hearing these names sent a shiver down Ace's spine. Those five were near the top of GRAMPA's most wanted list. On their own, the mystical-enhanced criminals were a major threat, each one of them having killed a few GRAMPA agents. The thought of them working together was enough to even make Ace worry.

"Are the Wild Cards…"

" _They're alive...just barely,"_ Jack answered. It was easy to see why she was concerned; she was the one who created the Wild Cards, being the head of the GRAMPA Cybernetics Division.

" _But that's not the worst of it."_ King chimed in. " _They made off with the corpse."_

"Oh, fuck." Ace replied, the severity of the situation now dawning on him.

" _It's up to you, Ace, but you might want to let the Avengers in on the situation,"_ King stated. " _Because we might be seeing the very start of a global catastrophe."_

 _ **Elsewhere…**_

"Far be it from me to question you, glorious leader." A blond man said as his master was operating on the corpse his comrades had stolen from the Wild Cards. "But this endeavor seems rather...unsightly. Why not continue the search for the Cosmic Cube or the Bloodstones?"

"Why chase relics when the most powerful weapon on Earth was in plain sight?" The master replied as began to finish his...extraction. "Failure has always stemmed from looking to an outside source. They will not be able to take this weapon from my grip. I will be the one with the power."

And so, he took said 'power' into his hand, blood dripping onto the floor as he held it up.

"With the brain of Charles Xavier, the Red Skull will eradicate the Mutant Menace!"

 _ **To be continued…**_

 **Author's Note 2: Yup, this chapter was mostly set up and adapting some of Rick Remender's Uncanny Avengers run. And while there's even less I like about that run than Hickman's, it still had some insanely dark ideas. Hell, it was responsible for that last insane line!**

 **But trust me, this story will not go into the 'woe-is-me' edgelord territory that Remender's run went into.**

 **And yes, the Wild Cards are the GRAMPA equivalent of Brute Force!**

 **Next Time: The Immortal Three! Please remember to read, favorite and review!**

 **Excelsior, True Believers!**


End file.
